Hike #590; More Central Gunks!
10/9/11 Central Gunks with Jillane Becker, "Naaron" Young, Matthew Davis, Alexis Kniazew, Andrea Licciardi, Cory Colligan, and Andy.
The group on the Ice Caves Trail
My next hike would be another almost loop in the Shawangunk Mountains. I had been wanting to come back after having a great trip to the area in the early Spring. This time the route would begin in the town of Ellenville and ascend the Shawangunk Ridge. Using NYNJ Trail Conference maps, Google Earth, and more I was able to plot out a route that promised to be very interesting.
We met in the morning at White Lake near my house and carpooled up to Ellenville. Jillane, Matt, Naaron, Alexis, and I were on from the beginning.
"Nevele Falls", or Buttermilk Falls, Ellenville
Cascade in the lower end of North Gully
Mine near the falls, Ellenville
In the mine
Looking out of the mine
We started off in Berme Road Park, along what used to be the Delaware and Hudson Canal. It was a nice little park with ball fields and such. The canal went along the north side of it but was barely recognizable, and there was what appeared to be an old school house or something that was now the home of the Ellenville Chamber of Commerce.
We started walking back down to where the canal would have been, then turned left out to Canal Street, Old Rt 52. We then turned left and headed up hill on a good sidewalk.
Old 52 joined with the current alignment and there was a bridge over the North Gully creek. I guess those creeks don't have names, just referred to as the "Gully". When we got to the bridge, we stepped over the railing and were able to see the beautiful falls.
Mine near the falls, Ellenville
Just as we got to them, Jillane called me back because she spotted the entrance to a mine! I went back and saw the opening. It was quite small. I had to lay on my belly to get inside. Once in, there it went both left and right but only for a very short distance. It was more of just a big room. Naaron crawled in behind me. We looked around a bit before coming back out.
Coming out of the mine near the falls, Ellenville
A cop drove by, while we were pretty much in plain view, looking over at us. I was a bit nervous, because even though it wasn't posted, the NYNJTC maps showed this as an area to keep out of. The cop went slowly by and then didn't stop or come back.
Falls near Ellenville
The falls were quite pretty with light grey conglomerate types of rocks. They looked very different than the falls closer to home on the same ridge that would spill over shales and such.
Falls near Ellenville
Falls near Ellenville
Falls near Ellenville
Falls near Ellenville
Cascade on the North Gully
I looked into the history of the falls and such later on. We were wondering what the significance of the site was because there was a masonry road or walkway along the left side of the stream, and stairs over closer to the falls with a large wall to the left. We wondered if there had been some sort of mill or something there.
Online resources told me this was called "Nevele Falls". "Eleven" spelled backwards, it was supposedly discovered by a group of eleven school teachers while out at a party. However, the location of Nevele Falls is supposedly somewhere else, but close by. These falls were also referred to as "Buttermilk Falls". Sort of a disappointment because so many falls bear that name in both NJ and PA as well as NY.
I got as close as I could to the base of the falls, then walked into the water and climbed up a section to get some closer pictures of the cascades. It was really an incredible way to start off a hike.
There was a rough unmarked trail that headed up hill to the left from the falls. Jillane and Matt went ahead that way while the rest of us took pictures for a bit. The water was cold, but it felt great. The high temperature for the day was supposed to be 84!
Falls on the North Gully
Small path in North Gully
Falls in North Gully
Foot bridge across North Gully
Falls in North Gully
Falls in North Gully
Foot bridge in North Gully
Cascades in North Gully
Foot bridge, North Gully
I started climbing up the steep trail to the left, and soon caught up with Jillane. When we found Matt, he was standing on a fantastic foot bridge across the North Gully. To the right, steeply below us was yet another waterfall into an incredible whirling pool. The foot bridge itself was in pretty bad shape. It had a surface made of some sort of tar paper material that was not good for traction when stepped on. The hand rails that went across it were not sturdy, and the close side of them were broken off altogether. When we crossed, there was sort of a plank walkway between a big pipe that must have run underneath the bridge. The walkway had wooden piers that were badly rotted. The pipe led on to a pump house or something in very poor condition, behind a chain link fence.
Foot bridge in North Gully
Foot bridge in North Gully
Foot bridge in North Gully
Foot bridge in North Gully
Coming down from the foot bridge in North Gully
Foot bridge in North Gully
I turned back across the bridge and headed down hill a bit to make sure Alexis and Naaron were coming down okay. There were close behind, and I guided them as to how to get down the bridge on the other side. Naaron helped Alexis down rather than try to go across the rotton planks.
From the bridge, a woods road went up hill to the left, along that side of the North Gully, but I figured it would be smarter to follow the right side. There was going to be a confluence further up, and we'd have to be on the right side anyway because that's the side we were going to take.
Old stone path in North Gully
We walked along the edge of the creek following a nice path, although it was rather overgrown. It was lined with stone on the left of us, as it used to be some sort of road or something. There were sections that had collapsed into the creek, but most of it was pretty easy to follow.
We came to a point where the stone walkway ended, and the Gully narrowed down a lot. Beyond was a small concrete dam, and behind it some beautiful cascades with crazy patterns in the conglomerate rock.
Old dam in North Gully
Cascades in North Gully
Climbing cascades in North Gully
North Gully
Steps along a pipe in north Gully
Steps in North Gully
Small cave in North Gully
North Gully
Cascades in North Gully
High wall in North Gully
We looked around a bit, but there wasn't a really convenient way o get around this narrow chasm. Jillane led the way back down the gully to find another easier way up, and to walk the rim over the side. Matt and Alexis shortly followed, and it would be the last I'd see of them for a while. Naaron had already gone into the stream and climbed the dam. I followed him, and pulled myself through the open part of the dam to have a fantastic view of the eroded rocks of North Gully.
Naaron and I continued through over some amazing rocks. One chasm was tough to get through, and we had to do some real hand hold climbing in order to get around some spots. There were other spots where we just couldn't avoid walking through the water.
After a tight spot, a pipe and walkway appeared on the left of us. We were able to easily walk this for a while. There was a black hose attached to it at one point that looked rather new. The pipe went undergrown at times, and one spot actually had some nice steps along a slope within North Gully. When we neared the confluence of two streams, we had to cross the brook back to the right side again. Here, I found a small cave within the rocks, but it didn't seem to go in very far. We continued on and made our right turn into the main North Gully. This part got a bit tougher to follow. From time to time we were able to see the remnants of walkways, or old roadways along the edge of the creek, but they always just ended. There was also one giant rock that we could crawl under to get to the other side rather than go around it.
I stayed in contact with Matt for a while with spotty phone service, trying to figure out where we were in regards to one another. At first, he was right with Jillane and Alexis, but then he said they continued up the mountain and were not within sight any more. It was around that time that he opted to just make his own descent back into North Gully. He was ready to go back because he couldn't figure out if he was going the right way or not until I called him and he was able to hear my voice yelling for him.
I called Jillane and found out that she had gone up hill to the top of Mt. Meehagha. Naaron and I left North Gully and ascended to the right up Mt. Meenahga as well, but we stopped when we reached a sort of grassy area with an obscure woods road. I told Matt to come up the gully and try to find us as well. It didn't take him long, and he used the same route, through a small wash trench that Naaron and I had used to come up on.
I told Jillane that based on my phone images, she and Alexis should come to a clearing. Apparently they found it, and found some sort of a really cool old woods road. I told them to continue with the North Gully below them to their left, and we would try to meet back up.
Matt, Naaron, and I continued up hill and soon came to a pretty cool old woods road. I figured this was the one Jillane referred to, and so we turned left on it. It followed a shelf high above the North Gully, which was exactly what we needed to be doing. It turned out I was wrong, the road Jillane was on was much further up the mountain. Alexis used her GPS on her phone, and we tried to compare while talking on the phone where we would reunite.
When we thought we had a plan, we continued on our woods road and they would make their way to vehicular roads above and then take a cutoff to get into Sam's Point Preserve.
Garter snake on Mt. Meenahga
The woods road we were following continued around the same elevation and made it's way along side the North Gully creek yet again, and then sort of disappeared. We continued hiking up the North Gully for a ways on th edge of Mt. Don Bosco until I realized that in order to get to to the road, marked "Jeep Road", and the continuation of Mt. Meenahga Road, on my Google Maps, we would have to cut over to the south a bit. We went off trail for a ways, but when we got to where it said the Jeep Road should be, there was nothing there. The road even appeared on the NYNJTC maps, but we could see no sign of it. There had to have been some sort of vehicular access up there at one time, because when we got to where the road was supposed to be we found a spring house that would have had to require moving around some heavy materials. It was not one of the more simple structures, although it was in bad shape.
Old spring house in Sam's Point Preserve, near Mt. Don Bosco.
The road must have disappeared with time. I gave up on trying to find it and decided the best thing to do was to keep going for the carriage road near Lake Maratanza. I had talked to Jillane and Alexis, and we planned on meeting up.
We soon came out onto a path, which led to a true woods road, and then out to the carriage road near the lake, with a beautiful tilted rock outcropping.
Nice leaning rocks in Sam's Point Preserve near Lake Maratanza
Old berry picker cabin site
Old berry picker cabin site
I talked to Jillane on the phone shortly, and found out she was much further away than I had thought she'd be. They were hiking all over Mt. Meeneegha and Mt. Don Bosco on woods roads, bushwhacking, and on paved roads, and saw some interesting stuff, but were still several miles away.
The three of us continued to the right onto the carriage road, and passed the sites where old berry picker cabins would have been, with their old refrigerators and such just sitting on the ground near the footings of the former buildings.
Old berry picker cabin
Old berry picker cabin
Old berry picker cabin
We continued down the road and passed some more berry picker cabins. We were now in a place familiar to me. I had gone into this next one with Action Adam the previous Spring. We went in again, and saw the old refrigerator. It was amazing this place was still standing.
Andrea was trying to get in touch with me while I was there, and I had the idea that if she wanted to meet at Sam's Point, that she could go find Jillane and Alexis and bring them back as well! I called her up immediately and asked her, and of course she was happy to help out.
Old berry picker cabin
Old berry picker cabin
Old berry picker cabin
Matt, Naaron, and I made our way further down the carriage road along the top of the ridge and passed by a few more old Berry Picker Cabins in various stages of disrepair. When we came within view of the parking lot for the Sam's Point visitor's center, we stopped and rested on a rock waiting for Andrea to arrive with her boyfriend, her brother, and Jillane and Alexis.
It seemed like we waited for a while, and it turns out they all piled into Andrea's car and were waiting on a line to get into the Sam's Point Preserve. They were in a line of about four cars, but they weren't allowed to come in. Eventually, the fat lady at the gate made them turn around and leave, citing that there were no parking spots. Everyone said she was totally nasty. They said she also screamed at a father there with his entire family. The only other way to walk into the preserve was by coming in on the Long Path up South Gully. That would take over an hour for them all to walk AFTER finding a parking space. Jillane apparently tried to tell the lady they had been hiking the Long Path and they were just trying to catch up with the rest of the group, but the lady told her the Long Path was closed into the preserve. Not only was this not true, the Long Path had just somewhat recently been completed through South Gully, and I had hiked that the previous time there. The lady at the gate had no clue.
Annoyed, I decided to wander on back down through the lot and ask what was going on after she turned the others away. I was really pissed when I looked through the lot and saw that there were many spaces left empty. Not only that, but while we were waiting a huge crowd passed through. They were a very friendly group from a Christian community in Warwick NY, and we chatted with a few of them. They told us there were two bus loads of them, and they were both leaving.
I went up to the lady at the gate and asked what was going on, citing that my girlfriend had just been sent away. She said there were no spots left, and I told her "I just walked through the lot. There are plenty of spaces." Some kids there echoed me and yelled out "There are spaces here!". She said she couldn't have people backed up on the road. This was a dead end road that ended at Sam's Point, not some important thoroughfare, so she had to grounds to make that complaint. I told her there were only four cars waiting on line, and had she stayed, she would have been in already. I also said I was told she could get right in, and that I was care taker of a Nature Conservancy Property in NJ (which is no lie since White Lake was under LC management). I tried dropping names of people I knew and was very stern with the lady. I went on about how it's ridicules to have people turn around, how having them in line was not a problem, and just while we were waiting enough cars had pulled out that everyone could have gotten in. This wasn't Six Flags or anything, after all. She said "Fine, tell her to come back, but she still has to wait". I said fine, and went back to call Jillane.
They came back and waited on line, and it didn't take them long to get in at all from this point.
Once they were all there, we headed up the carriage road toward Sam's Point.
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
View from Sam's Point
Sam's Point
Long Path in Sam's Point
View of Storm King Mountain and Breakneck Ridge from the Shawangunk Ridge at Sam's Point
Ice Caves Mountain area
Ice Caves Mountain area
Ice Caves Mountain area
Descending to the Ice Caves, Sam's Point Preserve
We continued up hill with the sheer cliffs to the left of us. At the crest of a rise we had the fantastic view off to the east and south over Ulster and Orange Counties. Andrea was interested in the history of the place, and I told her about the guy named Sam that supposedly jumped and lived from the point that bore his name to escape indian attacks, of the Berry Pickers, and the Ice Caves Mountain that used to be a Commercial place that was leased from the town of Cragsmoore, and was now under the control of the Nature Conservancy. I did forget to tell them that there was a kid who died up there and his body had yet to be recovered. Probably better I didn't mention that part.
We wandered on up and turned off of the Long Path to Sam's Point itself, with the best view in the immediate area. Everyone enjoyed the view and the amazing outcroppings of rock. From here, we turned back to the Long Path and followed it along the old carriage road that led out to Ice Caves Mountain. I thought as we walked that they probably refer to these as "Carriage Roads" in this area rather than "Woods Roads" like they do back home because above 2000 feet you're not really in woods, but rather scrubby undergrowth of Huckleberry, Pitch Pine, and maybe a Scrub Oak here and there.
We continued on the road until we came to the intersection with the road down to the Ice Caves area. We followed this down hill, which was surprisingly not much more washed out than it was the previous time. With all the rain, I was very surprised.
On the way, I pointed out the fantastic view to the southeast of the Twin Sentinels of the Hudson River Gap, Storm King Mountain and Breakneck Ridge looking rather clear despite the humidity.
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
Solar panel on Ice Caves Trail
Ice caves trail
Ice caves trail
View from Ice Caves Trail
On Ice Caves Trail
View from Ice Caves Trail
Ice caves trail
View from the Long Path in Sam's Point
View from the Long Path in Sam's Point
View from the Long Path in Sam's Point
View from the Long Path in Sam's Point
View from the Long Path in Sam's Point
View from the Long Path towards I think Gertrude's Nose in Minnewaska
Long Path, Sam's Point Preserve
Leaving Sam's Point Preserve on the Long Path
Matt on the cliff beyond Verkeerderkill Falls, from the Long Path
We continued following the old roadway until we got down to what was probably the former parking area for the Ice Caves Mountain commercial attraction. From that point, we turned right and followed the white blazed trail down hill on the series of stone steps that lead to the ice caves in the fault line. Jillane wasn't feeling well, probably because it was so hot out, and I think most of us that had been going all day were probably getting a bit dehydrated. The cool air of the caves would help us all a lot.
The steps led into the first small cave area with some nice cut stone steps. It went into a narrow chasm, and it wasn't clear to everywhere where they were supposed to go at the bottom, and I had to keep a couple of them from going off the wrong way into the caves.
The trail exited the cave section and began to follow a steep cliff on our left. We continued along this section, which even had a couple of little bridges and puncheons over wet spots. We headed along the trail until it took us through more caves, the significant one being the one that had the motion detector light in it. We all sat down for a break in this one for a bit because it was nice and cool, and interested to be in a cave of course. No one wanted to hang out for too long in there though, so we exited by heading to the right descending through another narrow rock area and then out along the edge of the cliffs again. The trail is constantly interesting, and included in the next part ladders to go up.
We took another rest stop under a fantastic overhanging rock that didn't provoke the claustrophobia the previous caves would certainly have.
After our break, we continued along the trail. It hugged the side of the cliff, including one excellent spot where it was like a vertical rock face. After a bit of an up hill section, I found that something was missing; the door that led to the coldest section of the hike had been removed altogether. That was too bad, because I thought it really added to the trip. There was also a lot less ice in the base of it this time than there had been previously. I barely saw any. We walked through on the wooden walk ways through the big cave, around corners and then emerged below another steep section. Stone steps led us up hill past the solar panel that keeps the lights in the cave working properly. Matt had run ahead and was lounging on a rock with a fantastic view yet again. Cory mentioned something like "That guy said like five things that I heard today, and four of them had my laughing" about Matt.
We had a nice break up on the rocks with the great overlook. There were quite a few people in Sam's Point Preserve, and although a lot fewer of them had come to the ice caves there were still people around. We soon began to move on back up the trail toward where we had started.
Once we got back to the other end of the trail, Matt disappeared ahead of the group again. The rest of us took our time going up the woods road until we got back to the Long Path. It was here that everyone except for Matt (who had already turned down the Long Path and was fast on his way), Alexis, Naaron, and I decided to turn back. Andrea would drive them all out. It's a good thing this happened in retrospect knowing the outcome of the hike.
The three of us headed on down the Long Path to try to catch up with Matt. This was incredible hiking the foot path on out, because at this elevation again, everything was pretty much all scrubby. The Huckleberry bushes were a bright crimson red, with many other leaves in the lands below all changing. The sun was slowly going down casting an interesting light on everything, and the temperature was good. Now that the terrain had leveled off somewhat it became quite a pleasant hike.
We continued on, and descended slightly from the scrubby stuff into a somewhat thicker woods. On the way down we had some views north of the Minnewaska State Park Preserve further on. I think the mountain we could see beyond, part of the ridge that jutted out, might have been Gertrude's Nose in Minnewaska.
Eventually, we came to a sign that read that the Long Path was now leaving Sam's Point Preserve, and entering private lands where the landowner had graciously allowed the trail to cross. We followed this for a ways further and then came to an overlook where we could see the rock outcroppings beyond Verkeerderkill Falls. I could not see the falls, but I could see Matt out on the rock in the distance. As I walked further along the trail, I came to Verkeerderkill Creek itself, and there were kids taking a dip in it. They pointed me in the direction I needed to go to keep on the Long Path. There were many rogue trails around the creek making it difficult to see exactly where the path was supposed to go.
Once I was in the stream, i couldn't resist the urge to walk down through it, probably a crazy move, but I wanted to get a better view of the falls. Even the Long Path guided warned against going too far out on the slippery rocks. The view however, was worth it.
Matt on the rocks out beyond Verkeerderkill Falls, on the Long Path
There were some nice cascades even before reaching the edge of the falls themselves. They made their way down like steps until they finally dropped off of a glorious vertical cliff face.
View from the top of Verkeerderkill Falls
I walked right up to the very edge to see the water pouring down. I leaned forward and took one picture of the water flowing around me and down over the edge.
Looking off the top of Verkeerdkerkill Falls
Above Verkeerderkill Falls
Verkeerderkill Falls
View from the Long Path at Verkeerderkill Falls
Verkeerderkill Falls
While I was walking in the stream, the kids screamed with absolute terror. They thought for sure I was going to go flying off the edge of the falls. They cried out with gut wrenching "NOOOO"s that actually made me a bit nervous about going down there. They were probably right, I would certainly not have lived through the drop had I fallen, but I didn't really feel in that much danger at the edge. When I found Matt I found out he had gone down to probably the same spot and scared the kids similarly.
The view was out into the valley of the Verkeerderkill, with limited view of the countryside beyond. I made my way back up to the Long Path and continued my walk around to the cliff where Matt was waiting patiently. We could see back to the cliff I had been standing on a short time ago, and before us was a fantastic view of Verkeerderkill Falls.
Verkeerderkill Falls
Viewpoint on the Long Path at Verkeerderkill Falls
View from the Long Path above the Verkeerderkill
View from the Long Path above the Verkeerderkill
Along High Point Trail in the Gunks
Along High Point Trail in the Gunks
Along High Point Trail in the Gunks
Along High Point Trail in the Gunks
View from High Point Trail
High Point Trail
Matt atop one of the ascents on High Point Trail
View from High Point Trail
High Point Trail
High Point Trail
It was amazing to see these falls drop over the same kinds of rocky cliffs we had been walking along. Truly a majestic place. Alexis and Naaron soon caught up with us again and we waited a bit before moving on.
We had to continue on the Long Path for a bit from here. It took us through some woods and then began heading up hill again, on the other side of the "gap" the Verkeerderkill passed through. Once we reached the height of the land, we were treated to another view off into the valley, this time with a more widespread view out into more of Ulster County and beyond. We countinued from here for a bit along the Long Path until we came to the intersection with the red blazed High Point Trail. This trail, named for "High Point", which actually is not the highest point in the Shawangunks despite popular belief, led along a rocky ridge to the northwest.
The trail started out in a scrubby environment again, and soon led to the edge of the cliffs with more views into the little valley below, and then beyond to the southeast. The trail used rocks and small trees for the blazes, but also relied on cairns as well as stones piled in lines to designate the edge of the trail.
Heading northwest on High Point Trail at dusk
Along High Point Trail
View from High Point Trail
View on High Point Trail
On High Point Trail
Sunset from High Point Trail
Sunset from High Point Trail
Alexis reaching High Point in the Gunks
This sign pointed us to the High Point Carriageway.
We continued on the ridge which had some fantastic views. The foliage along these views was more spectacular than the places before. I credit this two two things: first, the area we were looking at was in closer proximity to deciduous trees with good crowns, and we were looking less distance down to the valley where these trees would be, making them more brilliant; second, the trees were in a more moist valley around the Verkeerderkill which often helps to make the foliage brighter.
We continued along the High Point Trail, and as the sun began to set beautifully over the Catskills we could see to the west, the blazes became much tougher to see. Furtunately, the cairns and rock lines made it easy to see when we were on the open rocks and the blazes became obscure in the dark. The rest of the trail was so obviously cut that we could get along it with no problem.
We made our way to High Point, which would have had a 360 degree view in the light. At this time though, we could see the lights of the few developed areas in each direction which was pretty cool. The trail descended from here for a bit, and we came to a sign at the edge of the Berry Picker Trail, pointing us to the left to High Point Carriageway. We descended and reached this woods road. From here, a left turn should have taken us a short distance to the Old Ice Caves Road.
We walked for quite some time, and checked out side paths we thought might be the road, but could not figure out where it was. One of them might very well have been it.
We were in a fix, and couldn't really try to go down a road so obscure, no after trying to follow the non existent jeep trail earlier. I called Jillane up and asked if she would be willing to pick us up if we were able to walk back to Sam's Point, and she was. She asked us to call when we were fifteen minutes from here.
We continued to the left down the High Point Carriageway, a nice wide path, under the brilliant nearly full moon. It was a great experience. We passed quite a few towers, and had somewhat of a view to the left of Lake Maratanza when we got closer to it.
We soon passed by the woods road we had come out on earlier, followed by the Berry Picker Cabins and ruins, as well as the Long Path out of South Gully. I called Jillane to let her know we were almost out. The road had been pretty easy save for a few big puddles.
We all hurried across the parking lot for Sam's Point as not to be seen or heard, then walked down Sam's Point Road for a while. There was only one car at Sam's Point Preserve, and no one came out.
Jillane picked us up at a small driveway intersection on the way down. Even my feet hurt a bit after this one, but it was overall a rewarding and interesting hike.
Jillane and I had some fantastic burritos for dinner at a mexican place in Ellenville before heading home.
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